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Day 4 – 13.5 miles (78.5 total)

I’m not sure why the font is suddenly much larger on my posts…I’ve tried to dive into the settings and figure it out, and tried messing with the HTML code but I don’t know if I can fix it from my phone…oh well!

I woke early and made coffee and read in bed for a few hours, periodically getting up to stoke the fire. It’s so nice to have a wood stove, but I do remember how much time it takes too.

I was out and walking by 7am and enjoyed the quiet morning. Again, the Crane Mt Trail doesn’t go exactly where it is drawn on the maps, and even the roads weren’t in the right spots. I was able to navigate it without too much trouble and the route was well marked with National Recreation Trail markers.

When I got to Roggers meadow I took a side road that would take me to the edge of Lakeview and the newish Bullard Canyon Trail. This 4.5 mile trail takes off right from town behind the swimming pool and winds around a butte to Bullard Canyon. I saw several people on the trail this morning, it’s nice to see folks out hiking, and I think the ODT could be a great asset to residents who just want to walk out of town for a backpacking adventure.

I had been in touch with ONDA member Margot who lives in town, and we arranged to meet at a mexican restaurant for lunch. We had a great time chatting about hiking, world travels and conservation. Margot even picked up the tab! Thanks Margot!

Next I got in touch with Alan, my Fremont Forest Service contact about arranging some volunteer projects for ONDA volunteers on the ODT next year, and I think we made some good headway. Learning the Forest Service systems is a bit daunting, but Alan has been really helpful. He and his wife Erin are both thru-hikers and a fun couple. They offered to let me crash at their place, and we spent the evening eating cake (Erin’s birthday was yesterday), drinking wine and watching episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Good times!!

I was able to do laundry and it was nice to have a half day of hiking. Onward tomorrow!